Grow Up
by It's Just Lara
Summary: Stiles may have known Lydia since the third grade, but he's always know Caroline.


Stiles ' _Thats-Totally-Not-His-Real-Name_ ' Stilinski may have known Lydia Martin since the third grade, and Scott Mcall only a few years longer, but he's known Caroline Forbes his whole life.

* * *

Stiles first memory is when he's four. It's a hot June day and the equally young blonde Caroline Forbes is right next to him as the toddlers sit under the snack table at the annual Mystic Hills police department cook out and take turns sneaking the snacks from above. They're also right next to one another when their mothers kneel in front of them so the two women can scold the duo for eating so much sugar, and their fathers stand behind their wives smiling at their children because the two men remember doing the same as children at one point in their lives.

Caroline is five when her father leaves her mother and her, and the town and never looks back. Her eyes are puffy and bright red against her lightly tan skin. But Stiles makes sure she's okay by bringing her to his house to share brownies and watch the Princess Bride with her while she cuddles into his side at the "scary parts." But Stiles doesn't mind because he thinks the giant rats and creepy old men are a little scary too.

Stiles is six when his mother Claudia gets sick. His father drinks a little more and his mother is always so pale and thin but its Caroline who holds his hand tightly as she whisks him off into her backyard to play pretend superheroes. She doesn't like superheroes, she's more of a princess and dragon kind of girl but t doesn't matter t her then because it makes Stiles happy for the moment and forget about his dying mother.

Caroline is seven when things get a little more hectic in her life because that's the year when the pair meet the slightly taller Scott McCall; the three become just as inseparable as the duo were before him. It's also the year her father comes back for three months, Stiles makes sure he's almost always over there for her; Scott is there too and all but he wasn't there the first time her father left, and he doesn't her like he does so despite all the effort their new friend puts forth, it's still the Stilinski boy holding Caroline as her father drives away once again.

Stiles is seven now. His world gets a little darker due to the fact his mom dies and Scott's father leaves him and his mother the same way Caroline's father left her and her mother. So as he tries to make sure his new brother is okay it's Caroline who doesn't let his hand go at the funeral, and it's her who rubs his back as he cries over his dead mom at her grave. Caroline liked to invite them both to her house when their parents are working night shifts so none of them are alone, and she can hold both him and Scott because she knew that despite their mom and dad trying their hardest neither boy let their parent see them cry so they never got the hugs the desperately needed.

Caroline is eight now and she has a whole lot more friends now. She tries to make sure to spend just as much time with Stiles as Scott as she has play dates with Bonnie, Lydia, Jackson and Danny but she still feels terrible for spending time with her new friends and not every waking moment with Stiles and Scott. Stiles feels terrible and rather dejected and resentful towards Caroline until he sees her crying at lunch because she feels torn. After that day he makes sure he and Scott don't seem as needy so she never feels that bad again.

Stiles is nine when he runs to Caroline one afternoon. He's red faced and sobbing as he tells her he's worried about his father because he never gets to see him anymore between the fact that he's now been promoted with her mom to sheriff, and the fact that while he's at home he's always drinking. He tells her he's stupid and he quickly falls asleep on her bed. Caroline then goes over to his house to talk to his dad because she knows that's something that's never occurred to the boy. The older man listens to her before asking for her help with pouring out over half the liquor in the house. Caroline gets back to Stiles before he wakes up-he doesn't know what happened with his dad but Caroline doesn't need credit, all she needs is to hear Stiles talk about how happy he is again with all the extra time he's getting with his dad.

Caroline is ten when she has her first crush. It's on scott. And It's not because she liked-liked the kid, no, but Stiles had told the two in confidence on how he planned on marrying Lydia Martin and it's not because she liked Stiles, because she didn't, it just felt weird that he felt something for her friend Lydia. After that Caroline didn't mean to, but for a month and a half after that, the whole termination of her crush on Scott, she started to hang out with Bonnie more than anyone else because it was awkward around Scott, Stiles and Lydia. In the duration of that time Stiles realized that maybe it wasn't Lydia he was so in love with. Maybe it was a cute blonde girl with somewhat tan skin and bright blue eyes.

Stiles is eleven. Nothing really happens that year except for the fact that he got his hair buzzed off for Locks of Love. Scott didn't have enough to donate but he did go with Stiles when he donated his. Caroline got eighteen inches of her hair cut off, so it only reached right below her ear.

Caroline is twelve when she's asked on her first date. It's by Danny. He's a sweet guy so he doesn't say no or anything but she couldn't help but feel like it was wrong-the two of them. She couldn't really decide until Danny but his lips on hers at the end of the night and they both almost puked from the gross and awkwardness. It was there that Danny told her the whole thing was an experiment to see if he could like girls-because f he can't like the most popular girl in their year than he really was attracted to guys. Caroline didn't see anything wrong with the fact he liked guys, but hit him for using her and taking her first kiss like that. Stiles had sat on her porch all night waiting for her to come home. He asked how the date was, his eyes were metaphorically green, but they went back to their normal shade of milk chocolate brown when she told him that they both agreed they were better off friends, he couldn't be happier.

When Stiles was thirteen he kissed Caroline. Or she kissed him. It was really a mutual agreement between the young teens. It was a weekend Scott was sick so the two of them were shut up in his room when he mentioned never being kissed by anyone-Caroline was shocked, and he was shocked she'd kissed someone. So he asked her to show him how to kiss. But only if she wanted to, and then he asked her to forget about it because that was a weird request. But caroline didn't think it was weird because she inched closer to him and placed her lips on his with her eyes closed. She didn't feel fireworks but she felt tingly and happy and safe, and everything a person was suppose to feel. And she totally did not develop feelings for him right afterwards.

Caroline was fourteen and going into high school. By this time in her life her mother is almost never around. Not that she minded, Stiles, his dad, Scott, and his mom were all the family she really needed. In high school though, she joined cheerleading and got multiple roses and various flowers taped to her locker. And when dances rolled around Caroline made sure to stick to the new couple Jackson and Lydia due to the fcat no one approached them. Stiles wasn't as lucky as Caroline when it came to social status, but he was lucky when dances rolled around because he would go with Caroline "as friends", but it didn't really matter because he got to hold her close as his heart beat out of his chest as they danced together and Scott got drinks.

At fifteen Stiles life almost went to hell. And not because Caroline got an actual boyfriend-forbid something like that happening. No, Scott Caroline and him ended up getting tossed into an unknown world of supernatural creatures due to the fcat Scott got bit by a werewolf. This caused them to find out werewolves are worse than Caroline when it's her time of the month because they want nothing but carriage when the full moon comes around, and they sent an innocent man to jail, hide the same man when he broke out, and had to solve the mystery of the infamous Hale fire to find the wolf that bit Scott. Only the night they all killed the psycho alpha he ended up biting Caroline. Caroline didn't mind getting bitten because that meant she could be stronger for Stiles when he needed her; Scott too, along with Bonnie who'd found out she was a witch, and Lydia and Jackson who had no clue about the supernatural.

At sixteen Caroline spent time with Derek Hale and Scott with Stiles as a tag along so he could watch her control her gift. It was also the year they faced off against Jackson the killer lizard man, and Matt, a freak who went to their school and killed several people. But it was also the year Bonnie and Scott had enough of Caroline and Stiles dancing around one another so the two friends ended up locking the childhood duo in a closet together. Cliche, Stiles had noted in the closet as Caroline was pressed up against him, something he totally did not mind. It was also something that caused him to babble. In turn this babbling ended up causing Caroline to kiss him because he might have accidently spilt the beans on the fact he really did like her, and not in the platonic way she's thought. And it might have taken a few more kissed to get it into her best friends brain that, yes she liked him, " _No Stiles I am not kissing you because I_ _obligated_." And neither of them told Scott or Bonnie for a few more hours so they could stay in the closet together for just a little bit longer.

* * *

Stiles ' _Thats-Totally-Not-His-Real-Name_ ' Stilinski may have known Lydia Martin since the third grade, and Scott Mcall only a few years longer, but he's known Caroline Forbes his whole life.  
 _And he's loved her just as long._


End file.
